Device for cutting water hyacinths



y 1954 R. c. WASHBOURNE ET AL 2,677,926

DEVICE FOR CUTTING WATER HYACINTHS m 0 1 m w v m M w m: m h L w 02 1 mm m Rm N Y B m m m J d e n F ATTORNEYS I May 11, 1954 R. c. WASHBOURNE ET AL 2,677,926 DEVICE FOR CUTTING WATER HYACINTHS Filed Jan. 2, 1951 FIG 2.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ROBERT 6. WASHBOURNE JOHN A. SELLAS wmMmmmM ATTORNEYS Patented May 11, 1954 2,677,926 DEVICE FOR CUTTING WATER HYACINTHS Robert C. Washbourne and John A. Sellas, Tampa, Fla.

Application January 2, 1951, Serial No. 203,976

11 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in a device for cutting water hyacinths and the like and has for an object the provision of a device of this kind which is capable of cutting water hyacinths or other similar floating aquatic growths, whereby waters which would otherwise be unnavigable due to the growth of the hya cinths are made navigable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure in which a plurality of pairs of saws are arranged in vertically spaced relation to cut the stalks of the water hyacinth or the like at a number of vertically spaced apart points so that the stalks will be cut into relatively small pieces and scattered up on the surface of the water. These cut up and scattered pieces of the stalks will not interfere with the navigation of boats through the waters and they will soon decay and sink to the bottom of the water.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved water hyacinth cutting device which is mounted upon a supporting means, such as, a platform or the like, which may in turn be mounted upon the forward end portion of a boat to provide a unitary structure capable of being attached to and removed from a boat as a unit.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved device of this character which has incorporated therein a guard or bumper for protecting the saws from damage by other boats, wharves or the like and at the same time preventing the saws from cutting or otherwise damaging other boats, wharves or the like.

The present invention aims to provide an improved cutting device of this type which comprises relatively few parts and is economical to manufacture.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved device constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated as applied to a boat, a part of which is shown,

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2* of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational View with parts broken away and partly in section, and.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the saw supporting hangers.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, indicates the bow of a boat and It a supporting member, such as a platform or deck which is covered by a metal plate I9 or the like. The forward edge portion of the plate I9 is bent downwardly over the front edge of the platform 88 as at 2B and is then bent rearwardly and upwardly into engagement with the front edge portion of the under face of the platform as at 2|. The plate I9 may be secured to the platform I B in any suitable manner. Platform is and plate It may be secured to the bow it and gunwales.

An engine 22 which may be a gasoline engine or any other suitable type has its base 23 secured to the plate l9 and the platform l8 by bolts 24 or the like. A fuel tank 25 is mounted on the platform 18 by a support 26 and is attached to the engine by a bracket 26c and may be connected by appropriate piping to the engine 22 which has a driving shaft 2! extending toward the front of the boat and to the free end of which is fixed the stationary member 28 of a clutch. The movable member 29 of the clutch is slidably mounted on one end portion of a driven shaft 3!! and has a hub 3| which is keyed to the shaft 39 as at 32. A collar 33 is secured to the hub 3| and has a pin 34 extendin from the opposite sides thereof. A pair of arms 35 have their lower end portions fixed to a rod 36 on opposite sides of the collar 33 and the upper end portion of each arm is bifurcated to receive one of the pins 34.

The rod 36 is rotatably supported by a bearing 31 which is mounted on the platform l8 and has one end portion extending'outwardly beyond the bearing and has fixed thereto one arm 38' of a crank. The other arm 39 of the crank has the forward end portion of a link 40 pivotally connected thereto and a spacer sleeve 4| is disposed on the arm 39 between the arm 38' and the link 40. The rear end portion of the link 40 is pivotally connected as at 32 to a lever 43 intermediate its ends. The lower end of the lever 43 is pivotally supported by a bracket 44 which is mounted on the platform l8.

The driven shaft to extends forwardly through a water-tight bearing 45 which is secured to a block 46 mounted in any suitable manner on the platform I 8 and through a sealing member 4! supported by the back wall 48 of a gear casing, generally indicated at A. The forward endportion of the driven shaft 38 is disposed within the casing A and is supported therein by a strap supported bearing as which is bolted to the back wall 48 of the gear casing. A gear is fixed to the forward end of the shaft 353 and meshes with a gear 52 which is secured to a transverse shaft 53, the opposite ends of which are rotatably supported by bearings 5Q bolted to the inner faces of the end walls 56 and 51 of the gear casing. The cover 59 may be detachably secured to the back d3, front 58, and sides 58 and 5'! of the casing by bolts 59 and nuts 6i Bevel gears 6| and 62 are secured to the shaft 53 adjacent the opposite ends thereof. The gear 65 meshes with a bevel gear as which is keywayed on shaft through bearing 55 bolted to bottom 59 of the gear casing.

The shaft as has a main portion 58a which may be square shaped in cross section or of other suitable non-circular shape and has an intermediate portion ?8 disposed above the main square portion and which is circular in cross section and of larger diameter than the main portion to provide a downwardly facing shoulder 7|. The lower end portion of the shaft 68 is of reduced diameter and is round as indicated at 12 and is received by a water-tight foot bearing 13 which is mounted on the outer end of the horizontal. i i of a substantially L-shaped hanger B comprising the horizontal leg 14 and a vertical leg E5. The legs i4 and I5 may be of tubular formation and a disk is is affixed to the under portion 2| of the plate I9 and to the upper end of the leg 15 by welding or the like. The back wall as of the gear casing is secured to the front portion 26 of the plate is by welding or the like.

A plurality of saw blades 'i'i which may be in the form of disks are disposed in vertically spaced apart relation on the main portion of the shaft 68. Each blade i'! has a square or non-circular opening therein which matches the non-circular shape of the main portion of the shaft to provide a driving connection between the shaft 68 and the blades Tl. The blades "li may be vertically spaced apart approximately three inches or any other desired distance and are maintained in this spaced apart relation by spacing sleeves 18 which encircle the main portion of the shaft 58 and one of which is disposed between each adjacent pairs of blades 17.

The sleeves it may be of cylindrical formation and have square shaped openings therethrough. A spacing block '39 encircles the lower end of the main portion of the shaft 68 and is disposed between the lowermost blade ii and the foot bearing 53 and is of a sufficient diameter to close the upper end of the bearing i3 and keep the lowermost blade spaced from the bearing. The uppermost of the blades Ti is maintained in proper position by the shoulder H on the shaft 68 and the uppermost of the sleeves T8.

The bevel gear 62 meshes with a bevel gear 80 which is keywayed on shaft 85 through bearing 82 bolted to the bottom 69 of the gear casing. The shaft 85 has a main portion 85a which may be square shaped in cross section or of any other suitable non-circular shape and has an intermediate portion 86 disposed above the main square portion and which is circular in cross section and of larger diameter than the main portion to provide a. downwardly facing shoulder 81.

The lower end portion of the shaft 85 is of reduced diameter and is round in cross section as indicated at 88 and is received by a watertight foot bearing 89 which is mounted on the outer end of the horizontal leg 90 of a substantially L-shaped hanger C comprising the horizontal leg 90 and a. vertical leg 9|. The legs Sit and 9| may be of tubular formation and a disk 92 is secured to the upper end of the leg 9| by welding or the like and the disk 92 is affixed to the under portion 2| of the plate I!) by welding or the like.

A plurality of saw blades 93, similar in structure and arrangement to the blades 11, are disposed on the main portion of the shaft 85 and j are held in proper vertically spaced apart relation by spacing sleeves 94 which are similar in structure and arrangement to the sleeves 18. A spacing block 95 encircles the lower end of the main portion of the shaft and is disposed between the lowermost blade 93 and the foot hearing 89 and is of sufiicient diameter to close the upper end of the bearing 89 and keep the lowermost of the blades 93 spaced from the bearing. The uppermost of the blades 93 is maintained in proper position by the shoulder 8'! on the shaft 85 and the uppermost of the sleeves 94. A sealing member 96 encircles the intermediate cylindrical portion of each shaft 68 and t5 and is secured to the outer face of the bottom 69 of the gear casing to prevent the passage of fluid around the shafts into and out of the casing A.

Scrapers 91 are secured to each vertical leg 15 and 9| of the hangers and may be of any desired shape but are illustrated as being substantially fiat oblong shaped plates. The rear end portions of the scrapers are attached to the outer sides of the legs 15 and 9| by rivets 98 or the like which are received by holes 99 in the legs 15 and 9|. The scrapers 91 are disposed in vertical planes and extend forwardly from their points of attachment and each scraper is disposed between a pair of vertically spaced apart blades TI and 93 so that its upper and lower edges are located adjacent to the upper and lower faces, respectively, of the associated pair of blades. The inner face of the forward end portion of each scraper engages the outer face of the adjacent spacing sleeve 18 or 94.

A substantially G-shaped guard or bumper W1] is disposed between the bottom 69 of the gear casing and the uppermost of the blades 1? and 93. The guard I00 may be of tubular formation and has its opposite ends secured by welding or the like to the outer sides of the platform or deck H3. The closed front portion of the guard extends forwardly of the front wall 58 of the gear casing and forwardly of the blades 11 and 93. The sides of the guard extend beyond the end walls 56 and 51 of the gear casing and laterally beyond the blades 11 and 93.

In the operation of the device the boat will be driven forwardly by an engine or the like which is separate and distinct from the engine 22. As will be noted from Figure 3 of the drawing the lowermost saw blades are disposed within the water below the water line NH and the next adjacent pair of blades will be disposed at approximately the water line H. It is to be understood that the vertical position of the blades may be adjusted to suit varying conditions.

Assuming that the engine 22 is running and it is desired to put the saw blades 1'! and 93 into operation, the lever 43 will be moved forwardly so that the movable clutch 29 is brought into engagement with the clutch 28 whereby rotation of the driving shaft 21 is transmitted to the driven shaft 30.

The direction of rotation of the shaft 30 is such. that the blades 11 will be rotated in a clockwise direction and the blades 93. will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction when looking at Figure 1 of the drawings. As the boat moves forwardly against the stalks of the water hyacinths or other aquatic growth, the rotating saw blades will cut the stalks into relatively small pieces and the pieces will be scattered over the surface of the water. These small pieces of the stalks will not interfere with the navigation of cause the decay of the pieces of stalks and they will sink to the bottom of the water.

It will be noted, from Figure 3 of the drawings that the lowermost pair of saw blades are disposed in a horizontal plane which is below the plane of the bottom H12 of the boat so that the boat can proceed over the cut stumps, or stalks of the water hyacinths without the bottom of the boat dragging or scraping on the stumps. The spacing sleeves 18 and 9-1 will rotate with shafts 63 and 85.

Moreover, the scrapers 91 which have their forward ends bear against the spacing sleeves will prevent any stalks, weeds, or the like, from winding around the shafts E8 and 85 and the spacing sleeves i8 and 94. The upper and lower edges of the scrapers 91 will prevent an undue accumulation of foreign matter, scum or the like on the saw blades.

The guard or bumper I will prevent damage to the saw blades by collision with other boats and will also prevent the saw blades from inflicting damage on other boats, wharves, or the like. When it is desired to stop the cutting action, the lever 43 will be moved forwardly so that the movable clutch member 29 will be disengaged from the stationary clutch member 23.

It will be noted that all of the various elements of the cutting device are supported by the platform l8, which in turn is mounted upon the bow of boat I!) and gunwales of the boat. With such an arrangement the entire cutting device may be removed from the boat by disengaging platform l8 and plate I9 from the bow I and gunwales.

While only two vertical rows of cutting blades have been illustrated in the drawings it is to be understood that in the event a wider cut is desired one or more additional vertical rows of cutting blades similar to the ones disclosed may be mounted upon the boat.

It obvious that various changes and modi fications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. An improved device for cutting water hyaand the like comprising a platform adapted to be mounted on a boat, a plurality of vertically aligned spaced apart saw blades each having a non-circular opening therethrough, means rotatably supporting said saw blades comprising a shaft supported by said platform and having a main portion of non-circular shape in cross-section extending through the non-circular openings in. said saw blades to provide a driving connection therebetween, a spacing sleeve disposed between each two adjacent saw blades and encircling said shaft, said shaft having an anular shoulder for cooperating with the uppermost spacing sleeve to restrain the uppermost saw blade against undue vertical movement.

2. An improved device for cutting water hyaterized by the fact cinths and the like as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that a hanger is supported by said platform, that a foot bearing is mounted on said hanger for receiving one end of said shaft, and that a spacing block is disposed between the top of said foot bearing and the under surface of the lowermost saw blade.

3. An improved device for cutting water hyacinths and the like as claimed in claim 2 characterized by the fact that said hanger is subsstantially L-shaped and comprises a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, that said foot bearing is mounted on the horizontal leg of the hanger, that a disk is secured to the upper end of said vertical leg of the hanger andtosaid platform, and that a plurality of scrapers are provided each having one end portion secured to the vertical leg of said hanger and its opposite end portion disposed between two adjacent saw blades.

4. An improved device for cutting water hyacinths and the like comprising a platform adapted to be detachably mounted on a boat, an engine mounted on said platform, a drive shaft on said engine and rotated thereby, a stationary clutch member mounted on said drive shaft, a driven shaft mounted on said platform, a movable clutch member mounted on one end of said driven shaft and keyed thereto, lever operated means operatively connected to said movable clutch for moving said movable clutch into and out of engagement with said stationary clutch, a gear casing mounted on said platform for receiving the opposite end of said driven shaft, a pair of hangers mounted on said platform, a saw blade shaft rotatably supported by each of said hangers and having one end thereof disposed within said gear casing, a plurality of vertically aligned spaced apart saw blades mounted on each of said saw blade shafts for rotation therewith, and a train of gears disposed within said gear casing between said driven shaft and said saw blade shafts.

5. An improved cinths and the like device for cutting water hyaas claimed in claim 4 characthat a spacing sleeve is disposed between each two adjacent saw blades, and that a scraper is disposed between each two adjacent saw blades and has one end connected to its respective hanger and its opposite end portion in engagement with its respective spacing sleeve, the opposite edges of each scraper being disposed adjacent to the opposed faces of the two adjacent saw blades.

6. An improved device for cutting water hyacinths and the like as claimed in claim 5 characterized by the fact that a guard is mounted on said platform and extends outwardly of said saw blades and gear casing.

7. A device for cutting water hyacinths and the 1' e comprising a supporting member adapted to be mounted on a boat, a plurality of vertically aligned saw blades disposed in vertically spaced apart relation and rotatably carried by said supporting member, spacing means positioned between each two adjacent saw blades for maintaining said blades in their vertically spaced apart relation, and driving means having an operative connection with said saw blades for rotating said saw blades.

8. A device for cutting water hyacinths and the like comprising a supporting member adapted to be mounted on a boat, a plurality of saw blades disposed in vertically spaced apart relation and rotatably carried by said supporting member, spacing means operatively associated with said saw blades for maintaining said blades in their vertically spaced apart relation, and driving means having an operative connection with said saw blades for rotating said saw blades.

9. An improved device for cutting water hyacinths and the like comprising a supporting member adapted to be mounted on a boat, 'a plurality of vertically aligned saw blades disposed in vertically spaced apart relation for cutting the stalks of the hyacinths at a plurality of vertically spaced apart points and mounted upon said supporting member, means for rotating said saw blades carried by said supporting member and comprising a rotatable shaft, and a spacing sleeve disposed between each two adjacent saw blades and encircling said shaft and rotatable therewith.

10. A device for cutting water hyacinths and the like comprising a platform adapted to be mounted on a boat, a hanger on said platform, a shaft rotatably mounted on said hanger, a plurality of vertically spaced apart saw blades mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, driving means operatively connected to said shaft for imparting rotation to said shaft and blades, a spacing sleeve positioned between each two adjacent saw blades and encircling said shaft and rotatable therewith, and a scraper disposed between each two adjacent saw blades and carried by said hanger, said scrapers bearing against said spacing sleeves.

11. An improved device for cutting water hyacinths and the like comprising a supporting member adapted. to be attached to a boat, a series of vertically aligned spaced apart saw blades carried by said supporting member, a second series of vertically aligned spaced apart saw blades carried by said supporting member, spacing means positioned between each two adjacent saw blades of each series for maintaining the adjacent blades of each series in their vertically spaced apart relation, each saw blade of one series cooperating with a corresponding saw blade of the other series to form pairs, and means mounted on said supporting member and having an operative connection with said saw blades for rotating the two series of saw blades in opposite directions, whereby the stalks of the hyacinths will be drawn in between the cooperating pairs of saw blades and cut simultaneously at a plurality of vertically spaced apart points so as to out each stalk into small pieces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

